


Season of Families United

by tlakht



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, First Kiss, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Minor Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 02:48:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21908740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tlakht/pseuds/tlakht
Summary: It's Christmas 2020, Team Free Will have miraculously survived the whole God ordeal, and their previously-deceased loved ones have been brought back to life. Christmas is celebrated at the Bunker, and old relations are rekindled, new ones are made, and some... are simply taken a step further, with the help of some mistletoe (and some meddling).
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48





	Season of Families United

The Bunker had been decked, not only with holly, but with garlands, wreaths, decorations and mistletoe. A year ago, Dean wouldn’t have thought he would be alive by now – much less that Naomi would have brought back everyone he and Sam and their chosen family had lost as a result of the hunting life, as a thank you for sending God into the Empty. Turned out, a bunch of previously deceased people as well as Dean’s miraculously never-deceased friends made for one hell of a Christmas celebration. **  
**

Everyone had been fed and their glasses filled – more than once, which contributed to the high spirits – and now everyone was catching up with people they hadn’t seen in a long time or getting to know people they’d never met. Dean had gone the rounds, talking to everyone and hugging his loved ones. Jo, Ellen and Charlie had gotten the longest hugs of them all; he’d tried the same with Bobby, but had hugged the wrong one and been called an idjit for it. 

Now, Dean was content with standing to the side and watching the festivities. He caught sight of Cas doing the same and went over to him.

“Hey. You okay?”

Cas nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off the guests. “They all seem so… joyous. I’m happy for them.”

“And what about you? You didn’t get any of your old angel pals back.”

“No.” Cas looked down. “They couldn’t be brought back; they’re all in the Empty. But Jack is here, at least. And Kelly.”

“Yeah.” Dean looked over to where Jack was sitting with his mother, still looking awestruck at having her there. Dean knew he had no claim on any kinship to the kid, especially after what had gone down when he’d lost his soul, but his heart still sank as he watched them. “Guess we’re not dads anymore now that she’s back, huh?” And then his heart plunged further as he realised something. “I mean, unless you…” Dean didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to entertain the possibility, but Cas and Kelly had had some kind of connection. Hell, she had told Jack that Cas was his father. “Unless you and Kelly…” He looked down, wishing he still had a glass in his hand that he could pretend to be studying instead of his feet.

“Unless we… what, Dean?”

Cas looked genuinely curious, and Dean would have smiled to himself if they’d been talking about something else. Only Cas could be so clueless.

“Y'know, unless you want to… play family.”

Cas hummed in thought. “Kelly and I are family, in a way. We are both Jack’s parents – just like you and Sam.” Cas gave Dean a soft, encouraging smile, as if he knew this was something that was bothering Dean. Maybe he did. “Jack has expressed excitement over having four parents now.”

“Four parents? He said that?”

Cas nodded. “He has forgiven you, Dean. As have I. And… I have no intentions of ‘playing family’ with Kelly.”

Dean didn’t know what to say to that. What kind of response Cas wanted, if any. He cleared his throat and looked at their guests again, and a small group of people caught his eye. “Hey, speaking of multiple parents.” He nudged Cas with his elbow and nodded toward where Claire was sitting with Jody, Amelia and Jimmy – as well as Alex and Kaia. It was strange, seeing Cas and Jimmy in the same room, but not as strange as Dean would have thought; despite the physical similarity, there was no way Dean could ever mistake the two for each other. “They all seem to be getting along well.”

“Yes.” Cas looked away quickly, and Dean knew he wasn’t imagining the guilt he saw in his face.

“Talked to Jimmy and Amelia yet?”

“I have apologised, yes. But I can’t make it right – what I’ve done to them. To their family.”

“You did what you had to. And look at them now. They’re just happy they’re with their daughter again. They got a happy ending, even if the road there was bumpy.”

Cas’s answer was a noncommittal grunt, and Dean knew he needed to steer his thoughts onto something else. “I think Claire’s pretty glad to have Kaia back. You see them kissing under the mistletoe earlier?”

That, at least, got Cas to crack a hint of a smile. “I did. They seem happy together.”

“Yeah. It’s good to see, y'know? Good things like that coming out of all this crap we’ve dealt with.”

Cas’s gaze softened as he regarded Dean more closely, and it made Dean feel naked – like Cas could look straight into his soul and see all his secrets.

“You’re a real romantic, aren’t you, Dean?” Cas asked, his mouth tilted knowingly.

“Shut up,” Dean huffed, but he was smiling. “Don’t you dare tell anyone.”

“I’ll keep the knowledge to myself,” Cas promised.

Dean shifted his weight. He didn’t know where to take the conversation from here, now that it had turned to his romantic qualities; this should be the perfect opportunity to broach a certain subject with Cas, but moving on from Claire and Kaia to him and Cas was harder than it should be. He shifted his weight once more, and when his side brushed against Cas this time, he didn’t pull away – and neither did Cas. Their fingers twitched against each other, both of them pretending it wasn’t happening, and Dean glanced surreptitiously above them, hoping maybe they happened to be standing underneath a sprig of mistletoe. No such luck, of course.

Something soft hit his head suddenly, and he looked down as it fell to the floor. “What the…?” He felt his cheeks heat up when he saw what it was, and looked around to see who could have thrown it. He caught sight of red hair whirling around as its owner turned quickly away from them, and Dean didn’t know whether he should be thankful or mortified.

Cas bent down and picked it up. “Mistletoe. I believe Charlie is trying to tell us something.”

Dean’s breath caught in his chest. “We don’t have to – just because, um. I mean, we’re not standing underneath it.”

Cas regarded the plant in his hand for a moment. “We don’t have to, no. But…” He hesitated for a moment before he met Dean’s eyes. “If you wanted to, I wouldn’t object." 

Dean felt utterly unable to move or speak for a moment – until Cas’s face began to fall. "No, hey. I, uh.” He grabbed Cas’s hand to keep him from turning away, and the mistletoe fell to the floor. “I – I do. Want to. Even without the greenery.”

Cas’s chest heaved, as if he had forgotten to breathe for a moment – which he may well have, considering he hadn’t needed to for most of his life – and then he glanced across the room and let out a startled laugh. “Um. Dean, I think we have an audience.”

Dean followed his gaze to find Charlie, Mary, Sam, Jody and Claire watching them with interest – and those were only the ones he could see at first glance. “Oh, god.” He hid his rapidly reddening face behind his free hand, but he couldn’t help but join Cas in laughing. “Yeah, we’re not doing this here.”

“We could… go to your room for privacy?”

“They’re totally gonna think we’re doing something else, you know. But…” Dean smiled and pulled on Cas’s hand, their fingers having become intertwined at some point. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

They had to weave their way through the guests, earning whistles and catcalls on the way, but Dean was too giddy to let any embarrassment wipe the smile off his face.

It wasn’t long before they were sitting on the edge of Dean’s bed, turned toward each other, and a bundle of nerves made itself known somewhere in the vicinity of Dean’s belly. It was the good kind, however; the rollercoaster kind, not the about-to-be-devoured-by-a-monster kind.

“Hey,” he said softly, beginning to close the distance between them. 

Cas’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he, too, leaned in. “Hello, Dean.”

The kiss, when it finally happened, wasn’t perfect; their teeth clashed because they couldn’t keep from smiling, and their noses bumped when they tried again, too eager, but none of that mattered – not when they had all the time in the world to get it right. Besides, the third time turned out to be the charm anyway. And the fourth, and the fifth, and… well. Dean had completely lost count by the time they tucked themselves into bed – together, for the first time out of many to come. 

**Author's Note:**

> Rebloggable tumblr version [here](https://tlakhtwritesdestiel.tumblr.com/post/189795493985).
> 
> Let me know if you like it :)


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